POLICE have reminded Ballarat residents heading away on summer holidays to ensure their homes look “lived-in” to prevent potential burglaries.
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According to the Crime Statistics Agency, January is one of the worst months for burglary and break-and-enter crimes. Last year, 4009 incidents were recorded across the state for January.
Meanwhile, burglary and break-and-enter crimes continue to climb in Ballarat, with 1288 offences in 2014-15 compared to 1061 for the previous year.
Wendouree resident Mia Pithie is one such victim of summer-time holiday burglaries. She and her family were visiting her mother in Daylesford between Christmas Eve and New Year when thieves struck.
Mrs Pithie returned ahead of her family as she needed to return to work early. When she returned home, she discovered her television, Blu-ray player, sub-woofer speaker, desktop, two laptop computers and several pieces of valuable jewellery missing.
She estimates the thieves stole between $10,000 to $20,000 worth of goods from her home.
“You could see things had been removed but (the house) hadn’t been ransacked. They hadn’t been rough; they were neat and meticulous, which tempered my emotional reaction a lot. It became apparent that they knew what they were doing; they were experienced,” she said.
“My first reaction was I was really angry. I would love to confront the people who did it.
“How do they target people? I don’t like the feeling of being in someone’s sights. I find that more invasive than being ransacked.”
Mrs Pithie said since the burglary, her worldview had changed and she was now suspicious of cars in her neighbourhood.
“I don’t know when that will fade,” she said.
According to the RACV database, Ballarat has a burglary rate of one in 46 homes, riskier than the average home burglary rate for Victoria of one in 67 homes.
Ballarat Police Senior Sergeant Peter Carey suggested when residents went on holiday, they ask someone to collect their mail, newspapers and leave some washing on the line.
He also suggested using a sensor light and setting a timer in the house for a radio or TV to come on.
“It all points to the fact that someone might be home and you might possibly deter a thief,” he said.
Senior Sergeant Carey also warned that many burglaries occurred during the day, with some potential thieves even knocking on doors to see if residents were home.
“That’s where good neighbours and communities can keep an eye on each other’s properties and report any suspicious behaviours.”
